by Michael Bunnell

Author of The Friendly Little War of Lyman Cutler available at Amazon.com

Stacey Rude, who grew up in Friday Harbor and was a member of the Friday Harbor High School cheerleading squad for four years, is excited and then some about this year’s group of girls. All of them have cheered in years past, and Rude coached five of them as Tiger cheerleaders in middle school.

This year’s custodians and purveyors of school spirit are seniors Lella Parker, Sis Baker and Nayaleah Tucker-Belt; juniors Rachel Scott and Hallie Hargrove; sophomore Jordyn McCutcheon; and freshman Arlyn Sanabria.

Coach Rude put the squad through the dreaded “two-a-day” practices, which have long been a staple of pre-season football turnouts. And although the level of physical exertion is clearly not the same, Rude does note that whereas football players throw a two-pound ball, cheerleaders throw a 100-pound person.